Artwork
Woman with a rosary
Woman with a rosary is an oil painting by Carlos Larraz y Micheto. It dates from 1856 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The rosary functions both as an attribute identifying the figure’s piety and as a visual motif emphasizing themes of faith and devotion within everyday life.
The painting depicts a woman holding a rosary, a string of beads used in Catholic prayer, which anchors its religious subject matter. The woman’s attire, including a hood, suggests a contemporary setting rather than a historical or biblical scene, aligning the work with 19th-century Spanish devotional imagery. The rosary functions both as an attribute identifying the figure’s piety and as a visual motif emphasizing themes of faith and devotion within everyday life.
History & Provenance
Woman with a rosary is an 1856 oil painting by Carlos Larraz y Micheto. It entered the collection of the Museo del Prado and has remained there since its creation. The work was painted on canvas and depicts a woman holding a rosary, rendered in oil on canvas. It is catalogued in the Museo del Prado collection under the accession number P006790.
The painting was created in 1856 and has been part of the Museo del Prado's holdings since its inception, reflecting continuous institutional ownership since that date.
Woman with a rosary by Carlos Larraz y Micheto is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, having been associated with both the Museo del Prado and the Museo de la Trinidad. Its catalogue identifier at the Prado is P006790. The painting, executed in oil on canvas in 1856, measures 92 cm in height by 74 cm in width.
No exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Context
Carlos Larraz y Micheto painted Woman with a rosary in 1856, an oil on canvas work now held by the Museo del Prado and the Museo de la Trinidad. The painting portrays a female figure with a rosary, a subject that aligns with the religious themes common in 19th‑century Spanish art. Scholars have examined the piece as part of Larraz y Micheto’s broader oeuvre, noting its technical execution and iconography within the context of Spanish academic painting of the mid‑1800s.
Overview
Carlos Larraz y Micheto’s 1856 oil on canvas, titled Woman with a Rosary, presents a solitary female figure in a modest interior. She stands before a plain wall, her head concealed by a dark hood, her hands joined around a rosary. The composition is restrained, emphasizing the quiet presence of the subject and the devotional atmosphere conveyed through her downward gaze.
Technique & Style
Larraz employs chiaroscuro to model the figure, contrasting the illuminated folds of the blue skirt and the soft light on the face with the deep shadows of the hood and background. The limited palette and careful handling of oil paint create a sense of volume, while the plain wall serves as a neutral backdrop that heightens the figure’s three‑dimensional presence.
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